So, let's take a few minutes now to talk about what makes a good central message. The first thing you think about a good central message is that it's compact. It has lots of meaning in a relatively small amount of words, or ideas, or graphics maybe. The idea isn't just that it's small, it's that it expands, it expands out into the implications of whatever this idea is. A good, clear central message is something that you're going to be able to remember, that you're going to then be able to expand out into a larger set of ideas. So, for example, let's say you're doing some scientific study, and you do a measurement. And that measurement finds something that implies a need for action. Say a measure of environmental exposure that's high enough that you need to act on it. Well, then, the core message is that the findings suggest action. Not what the finding is, not the level of the measurement, the core message is the link between the finding and the recommendation. That's the core idea that needs to get communicated. Here's another example. If new scientific evidence shows that a risk, say only affects certain people or maybe that affects some people more than others, then it should be that those people who are affected should be motivated to address it, and those not affected should be relieved. They don't have to address it, they don't have to do anything. So, the central message here is the link between the risk and the characteristic that distinguishes those who are affected, and those who are not. You need to understand that, that characteristic helps you to know whether you're going to be affected or not. So, the core central message is that link. Now, when we communicate with people, we have lots of different things we want to get across. Facts, and instructions, and context, and methods, and details which often lead to recommendations. The problem here is that's too much. You're not going to remember all of that. So, the idea of a good central message is something that strips away some of those extra details, takes it away until you're left with one central idea, one thing to hold onto. Right? Have you ever heard the phrase, 'Bring into relief'. Literally, what that phrase means is you start, let's say with a block of wood, and you take away the unneeded extra material. So, what's left is the image or figure, and what you're doing is by removing that extra material, you build the contrast to the image to make it sharper, to make it clear. That is what finding a good central message is about. Not completeness, not throwing more stuff in. Instead, it's about taking the stuff away, the non-essential stuff until the only thing that's left is the clear takeaway message. Now, when you do that, what you want to make sure of is that what's left is the most important point, the one thing that is the most important thing to communicate. Just like right now, my central message is to make sure you know to pay attention to the most important point, to that central message. I want to be clear here. This isn't about dumbing something down. This isn't about excessive simplification. Sometimes, honestly, complexity or uncertainty exists, and when it does, often it's that the problem is complex or we don't know the answer yet. That is what needs to be communicated. When the central message is we don't know or it depends, you have to be clear about that. Because that's the thing that the audience needs to take away more than anything else. Now, one good strategy for developing good central message is tapping people's existing knowledge. Right? You don't have to tell people stuff they already know. You can tap into that. You could rely on the audience to use their existing knowledge that will then expand your compact central message, remember what we talked about before, into its implications. Remember, if we want to convey a clear actionable message, our goal is not completeness. Our goal is memorability, its clarity. When we strip away, and bring into relief that clear central message, that's when the message becomes more memorable, more actionable. Now, at the same time, I want to be clear. We must be careful not to oversell the point or the data that we have. Right? As scientists, we can't run the risk of implying causality from data that are only correlational, or only focusing on one narrow point to the point where the audience misses the bigger and more important picture. We want to make sure that we don't pretend that there are say, very clear unambiguous implications from data that are preliminary or unclear. Right? That's not scientifically appropriate, and we never want to imply that something always works or always is safe when we can't prove that. Sometimes our central message has to be about, we think this is true or we hope this is true. Not that we know that this is true. But when we're clear about that, that can be a good central message. So, here's a couple of questions to ask yourself that will help you find good central messages. Let's say you're talking about studies or research. Why is this study, or finding, fact, or point different from others? What's new about it? What's different from what's already known here? When you can focus in on the difference, you can clarify why somebody should care, why the audience should pay attention to it, which is always a critical question to ask yourself. You know that fact. You know that it's important. Why are they going to care about it? Why should they pay attention to it? What does it imply for the next thing to happen? Remember that link to implications? Here's that link. What does it imply for what needs to happen next? Asking these types of questions over and over can help you find your central message, and the central message is always the key to an effective communication.
